The present invention relates to powered wheel chairs for patients with control over their arms and hands but without the strength to provide motive power.
Powered wheel chairs are well known in the art and are generally identified with a joy stick control. By pushing the joy stick forward both powered wheels run at the same speed and the wheel chair goes in a straight line. By moving the joy stick towards the left, a left turn is initiated, etc. For patients who have only the use of one arm or one appendage the joy stick control must be considered the present state of the art. However there is a second class of patients in which the individual has the use of his arms and hands but, because of his affliction, lacks the strength to provide his own motive power as in an unpowered wheel chair. In the past, such individuals have been forced to utilize the joy stick control wheel chairs which suffer from both controllability and maneuverability problems in close fitting quarters. The reason for these problems is that the man-machine interface in the joy stick control lacks the sensitivity and contains inherent system lags which make precise positional control very difficult.